


Honey and Ash

by spnstuck



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate University - Court, Courtly politics, M/M, Magic, Major Character Injury, Major character death - Freeform, OCs - Freeform, Original Character(s), Politics, more pairings and tags will be added as necessary
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-17
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-14 10:30:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5740270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spnstuck/pseuds/spnstuck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the only person in Karasuno born without magic, Sawamura Daichi has always felt like an outcast. And the cute apothecary apprentice isn't helping. Yet as border skirmishes with neighboring Nekoma shift into something more suspicious, Daichi must set aside his doubts in order to defend the only life he's known-no matter how unsatisfying.</p><p>Ft. Dorks in love</p><p>[I'll rewrite this summary one day, probably (eh.). In the mean time, I'll try and update once a month, faster if possible).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Honey and Ash

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my new AU fanfic! This is the longest fic I'll be working on, and with school and nonsense in the way, I can only promise updates as fast as once a month. It might be sooner if I can manage it. I don't know how long this thing is going to be, but it'll be p long if I can manage it.
> 
> I talk about the world and context of Karasuno within the first chapter, and more info about court politics and the layout will be explained in later chapters.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“Thyme?”

“I'm sorry, what?”

The boy across the counter smiled. “You asked for thyme, right?” He held out a small paper bag, and Daichi blinked.

“Oh! Yes, I did. Thank you,” he stammered, delicately plucking the bag from the boy’s hands. His nametag declared him as Sugawara Koushi. His sterling-silver hair, warm brown eyes, and punctuation mark of a mole declared him cute.

“Thirty-four coppers,” Sugawara said, and Daichi pushed the money across the counter.

“I don't think I've seen you at the apothecary before,” Sugawara continued, “Are you new to the area?”

“I’m Ukai’s new apprentice,” Daichi replied slowly. He could feel The Question coming, like a nail stuck in his chest: a small, sharp pain he wasn't unused to.

“What field are you studying in?” Sugawara asked.

“I don't know yet,” he said stiffly. He waited for the inevitable series of sympathetic looks and brittle reassurances he had come to expect in the two months since Ukai had adopted him for apprenticeship.  


* * *

 

For Karasuno, most sorcerers started their apprenticeships at 13 years old, about the time when their abilities manifested.

For Sawamura Daichi, his apprenticeship hadn't started at 15 years old, about the time he was sick of failing to summon a spark.

“No, like _this_ ,” Nishinoya said again, snapping his fingers with a dramatically intense expression stamped across his face. A curl of orange smoke leaked from his index finger. “Rolling thunder,” he whispered reverently.

“You're not explaining anything,” Asahi pointed out. He turned to Daichi. “It’s just a feeling. You concentrate and your hands feel like pins-and-needles, and you try to focus that feeling on your fingertips-” 

“No, _no_ , it’s more _exciting_ than that!” Nishinoya interrupted, vibrating with enthusiasm. “It’s more like-like _fire_ sweeping down your arms, and you feel like you just got _electrocuted_.”

Asahi smiled apologetically on behalf of the younger apprentice. “It’s different for everybody. You’ll just-you’ll just know when it happens.”

“I _know_ all that,” Daichi sighed. “But nothing’s happened yet.”

“Don't give up,” Noya chirped encouragingly, “It's only a matter of time.”

But it was hard to take him seriously when he knew Noya had only _just_ turned 14.

* * *

But Sugawara’s bright expression didn’t waver. “Well, good luck!” He returned to packaging the thyme, wrapping the leaves in a delicate bundle of string and brown paper. Daichi wasn’t sure Suga had heard him. No one said _good luck_ to an undecided apprentice. Much less Daichi himself; surely this apothecary had heard of their situation. Surely Sugawara-san knew of his shame.

Daichi sometimes felt like he couldn’t walk down the street without whispers dripping down his spine.

_That one hasn’t manifested yet._

_Something’s wrong with him._

_Can’t decide what he wants to do with his future either._

“You’ll just have to hold your head twice as high as everyone else,” Ukai dictated, jabbing his cigarette towards Daichi’s chest. “Walk a little straighter.”

Easy for Ukai to say. His grandfather was one of the most famous sorcerers in the area. During the Garbage Wars with Nekoma (Or the Boundary Wars, as they were called in official documentation), Ukai Ikkei had been a sorcerer-general. One of the best. Though the war ended fuzzily, with no clear winner and no lines redrawn, his power and resolve had gone unparalleled on Karasuno’s side.

Ukai wasn’t quite that credible. But his family’s legacy made him influential enough to deflect negative attention. Even the modest spell house he now ran, doing small charms and enchantments on people by request, held a certain amount of dignity in Karasuno.

Daichi was a farm boy. He felt like that said enough about his own heritage.

“Here you are,” said Sugawara. He leaned over the counter, his shirt rising a little to reveal a slice of pale skin. “Oh, one more thing!”

Anxiety hummed in his throat. _Damn it._ He was so close to a perfect exchange.

Sugawara blinked, the edges of his mouth still curling upwards. “Tell Ukai that Takeda said hi!”

* * *

Battle training was Daichi’s favorite part of the day, because trainees weren’t allowed to use magic. Instead of a “hum in your fingertips” or “a tickle in your nose” or whatever-the-hell, Daichi could wrap his hands around a thick wooden staff, the sturdiness of the weapon a calm reassurance in his hands. 

There was something so _satisfying_ in the neat, clipped movements of a staff. He knew how to use a sword too, of course, but he felt that the staff’s flexibility allowed him more freedom in a fight.

Like now, when he could parry away a sword blow, then - briskly, swiftly - complete the staff’s momentum with a sweeping jab that knocked his opponent’s feet out from under him. Hinata Shoyo tumbled into the dust, his sunny hair mottled with dry grass.

“You’re quick, but you need to watch your opponent,” Daichi instructed, offering a hand to the younger apprentice. Hinata took it, leaping up and nodding enthusiastically.

“But I’m getting the hang of it, right? I mean, I know I still need a ton of practice, but that was better than last time, yeah?” His eyes glowed with eagerness, and maybe a touch of magic. Daichi had heard the older sorcerers talk about Hinata’s potential. Though Daichi couldn’t sense it himself, Ukai tended to shake his head disdainfully whenever he was mentioned.

“The kid _overflows_ with it,” he hissed, waving his cigarette vaguely. “I always feel my throat itch whenever he’s around. It’s annoying.”

Hinata was certainly overflowing with something, but Daichi wasn’t confident it was magic.

“Let’s go again!” Hinata yipped, bringing up a hand to wipe a smear of dirt from the corner of his mouth.

“You’re not tired yet?” Asked Daichi. Hinata rocked on the balls of his feet, shaking his head. “Alright, one more round,” he conceded, “I think we’re about to break for the day anyway.”

The slipped into stances, Daichi’s practiced and balanced, Hinata’s erratic and unpredictable. Hinata lunged first, dipping the cherrywood blade towards Daichi’s chest. Daichi caught it before it brushed his shirt, knocking it aside and stepping forwards simultaneously. Hinata wobbled and stumbled backwards, regaining his grip to parry one, two, three of Daichi’s jabs. Daichi’s arms throbbed. The only downside to a staff was the weight; he’d been matching Hinata for the better part of an hour, and the light sword was much easier to manage than his own weapon.

Though he wouldn’t admit it, Hinata’s exhaustion was beginning to show, too. His chest rose and fell quickly, and he kept having to lower his blade so that he could push sweat-heavy strands of orange from his eyes.

“You need to cut your hair,” Daichi grunted, side-stepping a blow to knock Hinata lightly on the side.

“Huh?” Hinata yelped. He winced,  feinted left - Daichi caught his glance to the opposite side before falling for it - and met Daichi’s swing to the right.

They were locked now, the oak of the bow to the sword’s dull edge. Daichi pushed forward. Hinata panted but held his blade steady.

Daichi angled the bow to the left, utilizing its length while keeping Hinata back. He held his breath _one-two-three-one-two-three_ then swiveled left, swiping away the staff’s farthest end while smacking the bottom into Hinata’s hip. Hinata, unbalanced, tripped forward and - _crack_

The smell of gunpowder crackled into the air, and a _pop_ of heat and white light crashed against Daichi’s eyelids. He fell backwards, staff scattering from his hands.

“ _Shouyo!_ ” Saeko’s rigid shout assaulted Daichi’s ears when there was already too much dumping into his senses. His skin burned where he had been facing Hinata, his back ached it hugged the ground, his vision, momentarily blinded-

“I didn’t mean it!” Hinata squealed, “It was an accident, I-I’ve killed him, oh God, he’s _dead._ ”

“You didn’t kill him.” Kageyama’s stiff baritone joined them (he was _supposed_ to practicing with Asahi), and Daichi felt a rough hand pulling him up. His vision was beginning to return, swimming in a whirl of colors and fuzzy shapes.

“You’re not supposed to use magic,” Saeko growled. “That’s the point of melee training! You think that if you run out of magic, Nekoma will just _stand aside_ while you recharge? You need to be able to fight with and without your abilities.”

“He just got overexcited, Saeko-sensei,” Daichi murmured, “It was an accident.”

Her blonde bob and angry red jacket blinked in front of him. “I understand that, but _next time_ ...And in front of _Daichi_ …”

Something sucked at his chest, sinking past his ribs. “I’m sorry, Daichi-san,” Hinata said meekly.

“You okay?” Saeko asked. She was in clear definition now. She squinted at him.

“I’m fine,” Daichi muttered, shrugging off her scrutiny. Kageyama and Hinata stared. “I’m at the end of my two hours; Ukai-sensei will be wondering where I am.”

Their pitying looks and the sounds of wood striking on wood trailed after him on his way home.

* * *

Ukai jumped when Daichi opened the door. The thyme from that morning fluttered to the floor. “Hey, hey, what happened? Are you alright?” Daichi wasn’t sure what he looked like, but from the sorcerer's startled expression, he couldn’t imagine he looked well.

“There was an accident at training today,” he explained. “Hinata got a little carried away, but he’s been improving a lot.”

Ukai’s dark eyebrows - starkly in contrast to his scruffy yellow hair - drew together. “I told Saeko she needed to watch him, but what does this _senior_ know.” He glanced at the door, then back to wear Daichi still stood.

“Do you need me to run any more errands?” He asked. Ukai shook his head.

“No, no, you need some rest. Get to bed. I’ve got some people from the capital coming over later but-” He glanced to a clock. “-they shouldn’t be here for a while. Sleep.”

Daichi  stumbled to the back of the spell house, where he and Ukai used separate rooms. He paused in front of the mirror.

Hinata’s blast had seared off an edge of his right eyebrow. His face was red and felt stretched and shiny. Brown hair, matted with clay, stuck out at odd angles. His eyes looked slightly unfocused. And older. Tired.

The apothecary was a million years ago, earlier that morning.

Daichi collapsed on his bed.

* * *

He woke to gruff voices in the kitchen. A bar of light stretched across the floor. Boots thumped on wooden floors. Tension oozed bitterly on Daichi’s tongue.

“You say it’s not Nekoma this time.” Ukai’s voice, more hesitant than Daichi was used to.

“It’s not them. The flags we found on our land weren’t just red. They were _blue, as_ well _._ ” Daichi didn’t recognize this voice. Someone from Karasuno’s capital.

“Maybe they were muddy,” Ukai commented, and his statement met harsh grumbling.

“This is serious,” another voice said. “People vanishing? Burned houses? The last patrol we sent _didn’t come back._ ”

Silence spilled across the floor, heavy and slinking.

“I don’t know what to do. Send another one,” Ukai said.

“Have you heard any word from your grandfather?” The first voice asked.

“Nothing,” grunted Ukai. “Unless he’s being too stubborn and old to say anything.”

“That’s disappointing.” Second voice. “We’re training both magically and physically. These border skirmishes with Nekoma should have ended years ago. No one can ever remember what they started over. At this point it’s fighting for the sake of fighting.”

“It was for ownership of the river,” the first voice interjected.

“No, it was the land _around_ the river,” the second voice argued.

“Your arguing is only proving the point.” A chair chattered across the floor, and Daichi could imagine Ukai standing and walking to the window, or stubbing out his cigarette. “We don’t know what caused these skirmishes. But surely we can send someone to find out.”

“Have you been listening to what I said? Patrols are _disappearing_.”

“Then tell the king! Has anyone thought of that?” Ukai’s voice edged with genuine anger now. Daichi felt bad for the two men.

An uncomfortable pause followed. “He’d call for war,” the second voice said softly. “ _Real_ war. Karasuno can’t take that. You can’t suggest-”

“Then why did you come here and ask?” Ukai spat, and Daichi knew the conversation was over.

* * *

 

Daichi’s face felt blistered and tight the next morning. While he didn’t notice anything different in the mirror from yesterday (eyebrow still half-gone, skin still a little red), the morning’s cool air felt like a sword’s steel blade against his cheek.

“I want you to stay here today,” Ukai said by way of greeting when Daichi walked into the living room.

Daichi blinked. “I have errands to run. And I can’t fall behind in practice-”

“They’ll do fine without you.” Ukai cut him off with a wave of his hand. “I called Takeda, and he’s sending someone over who can take a look and make sure everything’s fine. That Hinata is too powerful for his own good. We don’t know the side effects of his magic.”

Daichi touched his temple gingerly. It stung. “I’m going to go lay down.”

“I think that would be a good idea,” Ukai agreed.  

He didn’t say anything to indicate last night’s conversation.

The thing was, the visitors were probably right. If word about missing soldiers and muddy flags reached the king, Karasuno would be in another war. And while Daichi rarely left the capital’s suburbs, he knew enough of Karasuno to know that it wouldn’t be able to hold its own.

Karasuno’s status as a trading hub of a country made it generally peaceful. The docks bordering the Tokyo Ocean were the safest for most ships (Datekou’s to the north being too rocky and cold, Nekoma’s southern shores being too rough and their harbors too corrupt). Because so many countries relied on Karasuno’s trading, they generally kept a peaceful relationship. As such, Karasuno had a weak military.

Nekoma was the only reason they had one at all, Daichi mused as he collapsed on his bed. Their grappling for Karasuno’s docks concentrated most of their efforts to the south. Even then, it wasn’t much but for a few rickety outposts and an academy or two.

But if someone new was challenging their territory. Well. That’d be a different sort of challenge. The sort a king might need to declare true war for, if they figured out who it was.

A knocking sound echoed from the front of the house. One of Takeda’s apprentices, no doubt. Daichi heard the low murmur of voices heading towards his room.

“-just see if anything needs to be done. I’m concerned.” The door swung open with Ukai’s voice, and Daichi rolled over to face the door. “Daichi, this is Sugawara Koushi, Takeda’s apprentice.”

A needle of joy pierced Daichi’s chest. “We’ve met.”

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is hayniacstuck, come and say hey!


End file.
